Practice

Hey guys. I've been only playing for 2 weeks and I don't know what to do when I practice. I was following about.com's lessons, and I don't feel that it explains enough. Does anyone know a good site with free lessons? Also, where is a good place to start for learning? Should I bother learning songs, or should I just focus on scales and excercises? I'm feeling a little confused and overwhelmed. Please advise!

Hi TJ
I wish I were starting out again, knowing what I know now! I'm sure the other guys on this site can give you better advice than me, but I would first decide how much time I can allocate to practice, then divide it equally 3 ways between Practical,Theory and FUN! Whatever you do, don't forget to have fun!!
Bon voyage TJ. you're beginning a magical (and difficult) journey.
Paul

couldnt agree more with deefa. music is about enjoying yourself. you should spend at least an hour a day practicing. spend the first half hour learning something new...scales, chords, theory, whatever...and the next half hour practicing it. at least. if you have ten hours a day to play, then play ten hours a day. there are great lessons on this site that cover everything from scales and chords to simple finger exercises. check them out.

The best place to learn is right here. And in this community eveyrone is very nice and they are very helpful and you can ask anything you want to. Also, there are many sections on the site that can teach you stuff.

if you want to truely get good it takes sacrifice and you have to be willing to put in hour after . there is no such thing as enough practice. I never never never just up and say to myself I think I have practiced enough I think I will quit. nope . if I got the time its guitar time. dont spend all your time on one thing . heres something helpful= take it slow = you cant learn things fast . the learning process doesn't go by how much time but more of how consistent . if you spend a little bit of time on say rythem learn open possition major chords and stick with them for as long as it takes you to get good enough to switch with ease then take and learn the major scale along with those major chords wether it be major pentatonics or just major which is later on you will realize is also minor only starts in different position according to modes. basically it all comes down to . take a little bit of rythem , a little bit of technique for lead, learn a song to make it fun and to make musical sence. because I have met tons of ppl that understand everything about theory but dont know anything about playing. so learn it , learn how to use it , and do it. piece of cake , just take your time on that piece of cake other wise you will choke and either strain yourself, waste time or just get aggravated. hope it helps.